Railway safety crossing



13 mas 1,580,777 C. BENTZ RAILWAY SAFETY CROSSING Filed Sept. 28, 1925Patented Apr. 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES CHARLES BEN'IZ, OF ST. MARYS, OHIO.

RAILWAY SAFETY CROSSING.

Application filed September 28, 1925. Serial No. 59,021.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHAuLns BENTZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at St. Marys, in the county of Auglaize and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway SafetyCrossings, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention is directed to improvements in railway safetycrossings.

The prin'iary object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter constructed and arranged in such manner that drivers ofautomobiles or other vehicles approaching the crossing will be compelledto reduce their speed to a material degree before passing over thecrossing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter so constructed that the driver will not only be compelled todiminish his speed upon approaching the crossing, but will be compelledto look to the right and left during the approach to observe whether ornot a train is approaching the crossing in either direction, thus givingthe driver ample time to stop, in case a train is coming, or to crosssafely.

With these and other objects in view, this invention resides in thenovel features of construction, formation, combination and arrangementsof parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustratedin the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1 Referring to thedrawing, 1 designates a main roadway, which is intersected by a railwaycrossing 2. It will be observed that the roadway is widened to anappreciable extent upon opposite sides of the crossing to accommodatethe curved portions of the abutments 3.

These abutments are preferably formed from cement and includecomparatively low walls 4:, but of sufficient height to stop a carshould the abutments be disregarded.

The abutmcnts include straight sections 5 and curved sections 6, theformer being in alinement and occupy the center of the roadway 1, whilethe curved sections extend'laterally into the widened sections of theroadway and are disposed upon opposite sides of the center line of saidroadway and consequently are disposed diagonally with respect to eachother.

Owing to the presence of the curved sections 6 in the widened sections,curved roadways 7 are provided upon opposite sides of the crossing andhave to be travelled before the crossing is reached. The roadway 1 aswell as the roadways 7 may be bound by curbings, 8 and 9, respectively,if deemed desirable.

It will be observed that as soon as a car passes upon the roadways 7 thespeed thereof will have to be materially reduced owing to the curvatureof the section 6 of the abutment, and as the car reaches the sections A,which are comparatively straight, the driver is in a position to observeif a train is approaching the crossing from the right. Further travelupon the roadway 7 will bring the car to section B, also comparativelystraight, and when at this point the driver can observe if a train isapproaching from the left. As soon as the car has passed from theroadways 7 the main roadway is gained and may pass over the crossingwith safety.

What is claimed is:

The combination with a main roadway, of a railway crossing intersectingthe same, abutments disposed upon opposite sides of the crossing andhaving straight wall sections located centrally of the main roadway anddisposed in direct alinement with each other, curved wall sectionsconnected with the straight wall sections and extend ing laterallytherefrom and defining diagonally disposed curved roadways: havingunobstructed communication with the main roadway upon opposite sides ofthe crossing said curved wall sections having comparatively straightsections upon opposite sides, whereby drivers travelling the curvedroadways will have their lines of vision directed parallel with thecrossing upon both sides of the curved wall sections.

In testimony whereof I afi'ix my signature.

CHARLES BENTZ.

